Fire Extinguishers

[Popeye]

What I’ve got are too old and too small so I want to upgrade. What are folks doing for fire extinguishers? Favorite brands or types or sizes? And how do you distribute them around the house? Looks like Kidde and First Alert are the big two at the local stores.

 

[Stormy Kromer]

I've got a 5 lb. ABC on both levels of the house and one in the basement. A couple of 10 lb. ABC extinguishers in the garage.

My Homeowners Insurance company has a cost share arrangement with a local fire service company, 50-50 with free refills. They tell me it has given them a better return than any other promotion.

Also an old Halon gas BC extinguisher in the kitchen, if I have a kitchen fire I'll try that first since it doesn't leave residue. Then I'll grab a 5 lb. and empty it, if that's not enough I'm out of there.

Keep an extinguisher near your bedroom in case the fire is between you and your exit.

 

[street]

Interesting topic. I have two of them one mounted at the walk-in door from garage to entering home. I also have one in walk-in closet in master bedroom. I need to get them look at them and tip them upside down and rubber hammer them. It is something I forget to do and literally forget about them.

 

[Sunset]

I've got a 5 lb. ABC in the kitchen and one in the basement.

I'm careful in the kitchen, don't deep fry things which was the cause of a neighbor burning up her kitchen.

 

[Car-Guy]

I still have several "charged" with Halon... I'm not sure of the brand(s) but they are holding their charge. "Priceless" (Yes I know)

 

[Popeye]

It looks like some have been hit by shrinkflation. I remember 5 and 10 lb units but online I see 4 and 8 lb units!

 

[f35phixer]

Fitting topic, staying at Dads house thru March. Walking the neighborhood and saw a house had caught fire.... Got me to thinking, where are Dad extinguisher?? He came over that night for Dinner, Hey Dad (89 yo) where are your extinguishers? Ahhhhh you don't need them !!!!! WTF are you saying

Lucky for him, DW and Sister where there , because I would have lite right into him badly.

We have NEVER really had a good relationship, soooooo there we are. Still trying to decide if I buy him one.

He does have smoke detectors.

 

[mf15]

Old industrial chemist here. Back in 1972 worked at a company where we made
the ABC powder,Purple K,and protein foam.
Lots involved to insure the powder does not turn into a hard rock with
time and pressure.
Oldmike

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

I recently bought new ones because the ones we had around the house were probably around 20 years old, and now that I'm using the basement as a home office I need to keep one down there, because I don't think I could fit out of our "emergency egress", one of those windows up by the ceiling, in a window well outside. I found a 4-pack of 1-A:10-B:C extinguishers from First Alert. I also always keep one in each car, since I once had to put out a "car-B-Q" on the side of a highway.

 

[Aerides]

I've got a 5 lb. ABC on both levels of the house and one in the basement. A couple of 10 lb. ABC extinguishers in the garage.

The most important factor is that anyone in the home knows how, and can operate any of them quickly and effectively.

A 10lb unit might prove unwieldy for a lot of your kids, or some women (and some men!) - it's not a matter of carrying it, but holding it in position while aiming, and maintaining it, possibly one armed, while the other aims.

No matter which you get, make sure everyone who lives there knows where it is and how to operate it. Even how to remove the strap/bracket holding it in place - those things take expensive extra seconds in an emergency.

As someone who was home alone in my teens and caused a kitchen fire...I figure it out pretty but it could easily have not turned out so well.

 

[Stormy Kromer]

The most important factor is that anyone in the home knows how, and can operate any of them quickly and effectively.

A 10lb unit might prove unwieldy for a lot of your kids, or some women (and some men!) - it's not a matter of carrying it, but holding it in position while aiming, and maintaining it, possibly one armed, while the other aims.

No matter which you get, make sure everyone who lives there knows where it is and how to operate it. Even how to remove the strap/bracket holding it in place - those things take expensive extra seconds in an emergency.

As someone who was home alone in my teens and caused a kitchen fire...I figure it out pretty but it could easily have not turned out so well.

Very true. A common problem in using a fire extinguisher is squeezing on the handle while you're holding it and not being able to pull out the pin. People (me included) get pretty excited when there's a fire to put out.

For inside house use a 2.5 lb. is probably better than a 5 lb. 10 lb. are pretty big, but if you can handle one the extra charge is nice.

I was a firefighter for many years. When we would send an attack crew into a smoking building we'd have one firefighter take a 5 lb. extinguisher in with them along with the 1.5" charged hose. Many, many times we could put out the fire with an extinguisher instead of using the hose. Much less damage.

About a month ago I used a 5 lb. on a car fire. A car driving by my house started to smoke and pulled in my driveway. I ran out with a 5 lb. extinguisher that I keep in my entry way and put it out. 5 lb. goes pretty fast outside.

Years back I asked the Fire Service Company who sold us our extinguishers to give a demonstration to our cub scout group. He said he didn't recommend giving instructions to children under 12. His reasoning was "We don't want these young guys to pretend to be firemen, we want to get them out of the house and call for help".

I think its a good idea for every house to have several 2.5 to 5 lb. ABC's and everyone know how to use them.

Plastic head extinguishers can't be refilled. Metal heads usually can. Something to keep in mind.

 

[Jerry1]

Old industrial chemist here. Back in 1972 worked at a company where we made
the ABC powder,Purple K,and protein foam.
Lots involved to insure the powder does not turn into a hard rock with
time and pressure.
Oldmike

So the two small extinguishers I have are probably worthless even though they show pressure? Not sure how old they are but at least ten years and likely more like 20.

What are good extinguishers to consider? Are the Halon ones better (guessing more expensive)?

 

[braumeister]

About a month ago I used a 5 lb. on a car fire.

A fire extinguisher in your car is required by law in many European countries (along with a first aid kit and other items). If you've ever seen a car on fire beside the highway you would understand why. It can grow into a tremendous conflagration.

 

[mf15]

So the two small extinguishers I have are probably worthless even though they show pressure? Not sure how old they are but at least ten years and likely more like 20.

What are good extinguishers to consider? Are the Halon ones better (guessing more expensive)?

Probably a brick by now. You can try turning upside down and see if you can feel the powder moving. But if there is no head space for the powder to move you wont feel it. Which would depend on how high the manufacturer filled it.
Oldmike

 

[38Chevy454]

So the two small extinguishers I have are probably worthless even though they show pressure? Not sure how old they are but at least ten years and likely more like 20.



What are good extinguishers to consider? Are the Halon ones better (guessing more expensive)?

You can shake the extinguisher and determine if the powder is still loose. Actually good idea to do that occasionally. Halon is no longer available (thanks to similarities with freon and global warming), but there are similar substitutes. All quite expensive.

 

[folivier]

Halon is also considered dangerous since it displaces oxygen. In a closed room it can cause suffocation. But so can CO2 extingushers.
Haven't bought these yet but look interesting: https://firesafetystick.com

 

[GalaxyBoy]

Here's a good guide on choosing residential fire extinguishers. It's from Kidde, and I have no affiliation.

https://www.kidde.com/home-safety/en/us/fire-safety/fire-extinguishers-for-home/

It mentions a "711A" extinguisher for the kitchen. That refers to UL standard 711A, which is for residential kitchen extinguishers.

It's not as meaningful to refer to the weight of an extinguisher in pounds as it is to refer to units of A and B. For example, 2A:10B:C. In commercial buildings we used to provide a certain number of units of A or B for a given area, depending on the hazard. I'm not sure how it's officially done in homes, but I have one 2A:10B:C on each floor with a smaller kitchen-rated unit in the pantry. Note that there are no units of "C", that only means it's rated for use with electrical fires.

And thanks for the reminders to check on whether I should be replacing mine or not.

 

[old medic]

I was a firefighter for many years. When we would send an attack crew into a smoking building we'd have one firefighter take a 5 lb. extinguisher in with them along with the 1.5" charged hose. Many, many times we could put out the fire with an extinguisher instead of using the hose. Much less damage.

I think its a good idea for every house to have several 2.5 to 5 lb. ABC's and everyone know how to use them.

I've put out several fires both house and car before a hose could get pulled..
I treat fire extinguisher's like guns... Fully loaded and always withing reach.

 

[Gumby]

I have Kidde ABC extinguishers. A 5 lb. one in each of the upstairs hallway, kitchen and garage and 2.5 lb in each of the cars.

 

[pacergal]

We have an ABC one in the living room and a smaller one in the kitchen

 

[RunningBum]

Years back I asked the Fire Service Company who sold us our extinguishers to give a demonstration to our cub scout group. He said he didn't recommend giving instructions to children under 12. His reasoning was "We don't want these young guys to pretend to be firemen, we want to get them out of the house and call for help".

Probably a good idea for an 89 year old too.

 

[Sunset]

Interesting topic. I have two of them one mounted at the walk-in door from garage to entering home. I also have one in walk-in closet in master bedroom. I need to get them look at them and tip them upside down and rubber hammer them. It is something I forget to do and literally forget about them.

Yes, this is the way to test if they are still good.
I put my ear to them and if I can hear the powder falling down when it's upside down, then it's good.
I just bang them with my hand, never thought of a rubber mallet, but that sounds less painful.

 

[NameTaken2]

(2) 5lb Amerex ABC extinguishers, located in MBR and near kitchen.

As important as having these extinguishers available:
Maintenance reminders on Google Calendar.
Review capability, locations and operation w/DW periodically, to avoid wasting time or suppressant in emergency and likely panic.

 

[ncbill]

all my old ones (decades old) were Kidde & they all got replaced via the recent recall.

 

[jgrdarrash]

Are these any good? Liked lightweight and easy to wipe off
First Alert EZ Fire Spray, Extinguishing Aerosol Spray, AF400 https://a.co/d/0AqtWk8